The Ongoing, Quiet Repeal (“Despite failed votes, Obamacare is being dismantled internally.” Can you imagine if Obama did something like this? The right-wing noise machine would be in overdrive, calling him a tyrant, dictator, etc.)

Trump’s Cabinet loves living large (“Do any of our top officials understand the difference between public service and personal luxury?” We went from one of the most squeaky-clean administrations in U.S. history to one of the most corrupt. Great job, Trump voters!)

Mark Warner calls Twitter presentation to Intel panel “deeply disappointing” (“Warner said Twitter’s response was ‘frankly inadequate on almost every level’ and said that Twitter must explain to the public what happened during the 2016 election. He said that the American public should have the ability to know when they’re seeing a political ad, who’s behind it and if it’s sponsored by foreign agents on social media platforms.”)

The challenge here is to make sure that the American people understand what Trump is up to. The better this is accomplished, the more likely the Trump gang is to change course in order to avoid having the blame for the problems fall on them. And if they do nonetheless continue to sabotage the program, it is important that public opinion exact a big political price on the Trumpians, and not be duped into believing that Obamacare was irremediably flawed by itself.

My question is: what can the Democrats be doing to meet that challenge? And do we have any reason to be confident that they will manage to do it?

Other than making a fuss about it and running against it in 2018, not sure there’s much Dems can do at the moment, sad to say.

Andy Schmookler

I agree — as far as that goes. The challenge, as I see it, is to find ways of “making a fuss” that capture national attention. Not easy to do, but I don’t see evidence that an all-out effort is being made, or gathering steam.

When I consider that challenge, my thoughts go in two directions: 1) getting prominent-enough spokespeople with dramatic-enough messages to get massive coverage; and 2) getting throngs into the streets enough to get massive coverage.

A last point: “running against it in 2018” sounds too far off into the future. My sense is that turning Obamacare into a “disaster” could happen before the end of 2017. And I believe it is important for the finger of blame to be pointing straight at Trump BEFORE the Obamacare markets get really terrible.

“Taking a page from Donald Trump’s campaign playbook, Ed Gillespie is slandering the immigrant community to scare voters into supporting him,” said Cristóbal J. Alex, president of Latino Victory Fund. “What you won’t hear from Ed Gillespie is that immigrants add billions of dollars to Virginia’s economy, create thousands of jobs, and are far less likely to commit crimes than native-born citizens. The commonwealth is stronger thanks to the contributions of immigrants. Virginians understand this and won’t fall for these xenophobic attacks.”

Washington, DC (September 29, 2017) — The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) endorses the following challengers for the Virginia House of Delegates in the 2017 elections. These candidates would make excellent additions to the Virginia House of Delegates.

Chris Hurst – D (12th District)
Chris Hurst began his career as a journalist, working as an anchor for Roanoke WDBJ. In 2015, however, Hurst’s path was altered by the profoundly tragic on-air shooting of two of his coworkers: Adam Ward and Alison Parker, who was also his girlfriend. Hurst has been, and continues to be, a strong supporter and friend of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. He is running against incumbent Delegate Joseph Yost.

Michele Edwards – D (20th District)
Michele Edwards supports policies and initiatives to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals and keep Virginia children, schools, and communities safe from gun violence. She is running against incumbent Delegate Dickie Bell and Libertarian candidate Will Hammer.

Al Durante – D (54th District)
Al Durante believes that we have an obligation to reduce the epidemic of gun violence in Virginia. He is running against incumbent Bobby Orrock.

Morgan Goodman – D (55th District)
Morgan Goodman believes that cities and localities should be able to control their local gun laws, especially with regard to open carry laws. He is running against incumbent Delegate Buddy Fowler.

Richmond, Va. — Ed Gillespie, who seemingly will say or do anything to get elected, has been caught. At several private events recently, glaringly obvious discrepancies have emerged between what he says behind closed doors and the promises he makes to voters. Ed has been talking out of both sides of his mouth, stopping at nothing in his efforts to become the governor of Virginia.

Most recently, he told a private event that he would oppose discriminatory legislation, while he told the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the public that he does not have a stance on multiple discriminatory bills that have reached Governor McAuliffe’s desk. As the Dispatch reported, “the Gillespie campaign would not say explicitly if the Republican nominee would veto future religious freedom bills.”

“It’s hard for voters to know what to believe from Ed Gillespie when, at every turn, he is caught talking out of both sides of his mouth on the issues that matter,” said Northam for Governor Press Secretary Ofirah Yheskel. “While the truth might be inconvenient, Virginia can’t afford the same economic devastation then-Indiana Governor Mike Pence inflicted on his state with a religious freedom bill, and Virginians deserve to know if it’s true that Ed Gillespie would follow in his footsteps. Dr. Ralph Northam has demonstrated he’s the only person in the race that will keep Virginia inclusive and welcoming to new businesses.”

Given the apparent hypocrisy, it’s hard to know what to believe. We can only assume the truth of Gillespie’s public message: that he would potentially sign discriminatory religious freedom legislation, spreading intolerance and harming communities across the commonwealth.

Such legislation recently passed in Indiana, costing the state more than $60 million after then-governor Mike Pence signed a so-called religious freedom bill into law. These bills have been an issue in Virginia, requiring vetoes from Governor McAuliffe three times in the past two years. The economic impact of Gillespie’s veiled decisions on religious freedom legislation could cost Virginia in similarly devastating ways.

Virginians deserve better than a wishy-washy, empty-promising, smooth-talking, K-street lobbyist who has no boundaries or parameters of truth when it comes to seeking the highest office in our commonwealth.

It is a sad display of disrespect for the voters of Virginia for Ed Gillespie to believe he can say anything he wants and not be held accountable. He doesn’t understand Virginians – they care about the truth, even if he doesn’t.